Days Go By
by existence555
Summary: Naruto knows when it's time to let someone go.


**A/N: I'm not really sure what this is, but I think I like it in a strange kind of way. Review!**

"Ne, Naruto, do you remember those days?" Sakura asked, idly stirring her nearly empty glass.

"Depends on which days you're talking about," Naruto shrugged.

"When friends were friends," Sakura sighed. "And enemies were enemies."

"Eh?" Naruto frowned, reaching up to scratch his blonde head.

Sakura chucked slightly. After all these years and the last few spent as Hokage, Naruto was still as clueless as ever. Suddenly she heard something behind her and turned around.

"Isn't that Haruno Sakura?" someone whispered. "Did you know, she's wanted by all the major ninja villages?! She's famous."

"And smoking hot," another person added with a low whistle.

"But what's she doing with the Naruto-sama?" the other guy asked. "Shouldn't they be enemies?"

Sakura wanted nothing more than to go over and hit those two idiots, but she didn't want to ruin her meeting with Naruto. As much as she hated to admit it, seeing her friend brought back memories of better days, days where all she had to do was adore Sasuke and beat up Naruto. Her reality now consisted of dreary boredom. There was only excitement when someone tried to kill them and these days Sakura made herself sick when she was forced to kill that person.

"Never mind," Sakura smiled, downing the rest of the drink.

Naruto noticed that she teetered a little bit when she started to get up so he called after her worriedly.

"Do you need some help getting home?" he queried, the words slipping out of his mouth.

She rolled her eyes at him in exasperation, as a chilling thought came to her mind. Did he want to find out where their home was and do something about? No, Naruto wouldn't do that… But he was the Hokage, and Sakura didn't have too much faith in bonds anymore.

"I can take care of myself," she reminded him.

That was something Naruto knew too well. It seemed like only a short while ago that she had left Konoha to join Sasuke. Forever. Now they only met occasionally and if anyone found out, it would be bad for both of them. They still had something left of their friendship, though it was so twisted that it was hard to find. Naruto wasn't sure if either of them were the same people they had been, and Sakura was getting worse over time.

"Ah, you're right," he admitted. "So when do you want to meet next?"

"Whenever you have time," she shrugged. "_Hokage-sama._"

Naruto cringed. That was something he was proud of and something he had worked hard to earn. She shouldn't have dealt him such a low blow.

"Don't say it like that," he sighed. "Like the word isn't even good enough to come out of your mouth."

"It's not," Sakura retorted.

"Well come by whenever you're in the area," Naruto changed the subject, keeping his annoyance hidden.

"Of course," she nodded.

She looked like she was about to add his title on again but thought better of it.

Neither of them knew how to say goodbye, so Sakura awkwardly kissed him on the cheek and exited the bar, her hand held up in a silent farewell.

Naruto paid the bill quickly and returned home to find a little girl waiting for him.

"Daddy you're late," she pouted, widening her pale eyes.

"Sorry," Naruto grinned. "I was with an old friend."

As he spun his daughter around, a woman appeared at the edge of the room, looking at them with an unsure expression. Even now she was uncomfortable with Naruto's former teammate, mostly because she was also his former love interest.

"Welcome back," Hinata said softly, walking over to her family.

Naruto smiled at his wife and gently put their daughter down.

"Hi," he said, leaning over to plant a small kiss on her cheek.

"Gross!" the little girl exclaimed, running out of the room.

Hinata watched as she left and then turned back to Naruto.

"How was your visit with Sakura?" she asked.

"I'm glad to be home," Naruto replied simply.

"You gave up on her," Hinata stated.

Naruto noted that it wasn't a question. It was just the truth, the cold, hard, truth.

"I had no choice," he whispered, knowing that it was probably the last time he'd ever meet his pink haired friend like that.

Hinata pulled him into warm embrace and was relieved to feel his tension slip away.


End file.
